Drabbles of the Heart
by Star-Shaped-X
Summary: xDarknessAngelx's 100 Themes of Various Couples Challenge: 350-word drabbles of ever-changing couples. Individual ratings for each drabble. No consecutive story.
1. My Friends Are My Power

I admit, I'm not a majorly romantic kind of a guy, but the idea of trying to make this challenge work sounded awesome to me. :3 I'm looking at it more as a writing exercise than anything else. I haven't filled in all one hundred slots yet, so requests are welcome. Check out xDarknessAngelx's challenge for a full list of rules and perhaps to try it yourself. :)

Prompt: (20) Heart  
Pairing: VenSor; can be read as gen  
Setting: KH3  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 349

* * *

"Ventus, right?"

The young boy turned to face Sora as he approached him. "That's right. You can call me Ven," he offered, grinning.

"Right," Sora mumbled. _He looks like Roxas, is named Ventus, goes by Ven . . ._ Sora scratched his cheek apologetically as he realized he was staring. "Sorry, it's just, we haven't really had a chance to talk alone since you uh . . . got here." Sora chuckled, still somewhat nervous about bringing up the subject of Ventu—_Ven_ having been inside his heart. But the other boy didn't appear offended, so he continued. "What, uh . . . How did you get there, exactly? Have we met?"

Ven looked upwards for a moment, reflecting, before he replied. "I was dying. You took me in so I wouldn't fade away." Something in the back of Sora's memory twinged, but he couldn't quite recall what it was. "I think . . . My heart found you because yours had found me once. I remember—the 'brand new heart' that joined with mine." Ven's contemplative look shifted into a smile. "I couldn't still be here otherwise."

Sora fell momentarily silent, a small frown lining his face. ". . . I wasn't alive when I was born." Ven's opened his mouth to speak, concerned, but Sora continued before the other boy could form any words. "I've never told anyone before," he confessed. "It took seven minutes for my heart to start beating. My mom used to call me her miracle baby. But I guess, my heart was just a little late meeting my body."

"I'm sorry, Sora," Ven sighed, shoulders hunched, but Sora shook his head and grinned at him.

"When my mom was pregnant, the doctors warned her my heart was weak, and that I wouldn't live very long, if I even made it at all. But from day one of living, it beat stronger than any other kids' on the islands. The doctors couldn't figure out why." Sora took Ven's hand in his. "You saved me, Ven. Thank you."

Ven smiled. "You saved me, too."

* * *

I do not like this pairing. XP But I like the idea of the first half of the convo and decided this would be a good place to put it. I still had fun. :)

- Star-Shaped-χ


	2. I Can Tell There's Something More

Title: I Look At You and Zack and I Can Tell There's Something More  
Prompt: (57) Sweet  
Pairing: ZaQua  
Setting: BBS; alternate ending where Wayfinder trio wins  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 349

* * *

_"How about one date?"_

Aqua shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, and walked through the empty vestibule. She could hear clangs and clashes coming from the other side. No, she couldn't have accepted the request. She had responsibilities then.

"Aqua!" Three heads turned her way the moment she entered the arena—one of them belonging to the raven-haired boy she hadn't been able to stop thinking about since she'd decided to return to this world. Zack ran up to her, not inebriated by his armor, and wearing the same smile he'd had back then. Aqua could almost swear he'd grown a bit. "It's great to see you again," he exclaimed. "I was hoping you would come back."

"Zack, I . . ." Aqua shifted her gaze down and fidgeted with her left wrist. For all her bravery on the battlefield, she'd never asked anyone on a date before. "I think we shoul—"

"It's okay," Zack stopped her. He had a look on his face, something that almost appeared sad on him, but there was something else to the expression. "I haven't stopped entering The Games since you left, but . . . well I'm no hero yet."

Aqua realized the look was humility.

"Just wait though," he said, a grin of determination overtaking the humbleness as he swung his arms and bent his knees to keep his body from winding itself away from training mode. "One day I'll make it there, and then you'll have to give me a shot!"

Staring at that smile he wore so proudly, Aqua wanted nothing more than to tell him she didn't care how strong he was—that she'd come here because she changed her mind . . . but that was a lie. He was right—they still had other responsibilities, and she needed to look for Hades and get rid of him before he set the darkness loose again. Aqua was a Keyblade Master, and as long as darkness threatened the worlds, taking care of it was her first priority.

_Maybe someday, Zack._

* * *

There was originally more to this, but it went over the word limit. Oh well. XP

I flippin' _love_ this pairing. X3 It's one of my favorites. Aqua and Zack are just so cute together . . . I had to write it. :D

- Star-Shaped-χ


	3. It's More Than Just a Fairy Tale

Prompt: (91) Fantasy  
Setting: Legend  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 211

* * *

Once upon a time, the world that had for so long lived in harmony with the light became threatened by darkness. The people blamed their each other for the darkness' creation. War broke out as the people unwittingly fed the darkness their anger; the fighting led only to tragedy, and that they fed to the darkness too. Soon, the darkness overtook the world.

The light, however, refused to give up. It continued to shine in the hearts of children. They struggled through the darkness, each alone and unable to see a way out. The light fought bravely, but as time wore on even the children began to succumb to hopelessness. Slowly, one-by-one, the darkness swallowed them as well from this lonely world, until only two remained.

Yet all was not lost. These two continued to search, and found each other's light breaking through their own darkness. They embraced each other, and when their hearts touched the light within grew, strengthened by the love the children shared. The light rebuilt the lost world as best it could, and although it was not complete, it was not alone either.

One day, the time will come when two more step forward to complete the world, and restore what the darkness took.

* * *

Written as sort of a past-life SoKai, though the last line probably alludes more to SoRiku. Eh, whatever—I'm sure you guys just see OC's anyway. XP I'm not big on any of those pairings so I don't care.

- Star-Shaped-χ


	4. Don't Be Selfish

Prompt: (86) Confusion  
Pairing: AkuShi  
Setting: AU apocalypse  
Rating: T  
Word Count: 346

* * *

Xion stared, eyes wide and heart sinking. "What are you . . . saying?"

The red-haired man gave a deep, guilty sigh, averting his gaze. "I'm sorry, Xion, but this could never work between us. I'm not . . ."

Axel had found her, alone, almost a year ago. He protected her and taught her how to fight. For all they knew, they were the only people left. Anywhere. So last night, Axel brought up the subject they had long been avoiding. He was a male. She was a female. There were certain courses of action they need to take for the race to keep going.

Xion agreed—she had long since fallen for Axel, and she thought the repopulation idea was Axel's shy way of admitting he felt the same. Xion was a virgin, but Axel was gentle. She fell asleep in his arms after they finished. Not since this ordeal had begun had she been given such wonderful dreams.

But in the morning, when she tried to continue the affection with little snuggles and kisses and holding his hand, Axel refused to take any part in it.

"You're not _what_, Axel?" Xion demanded.

He sighed again, running his hand through his hair nervously. "Look, I'm not into girls, okay?"

Xion lowered her eyes away from him. She felt her body grew stiff as the words sank in. "So . . ." Her shoulders clenched, tension spreading down her arms. "So . . . so in a couple of years, when I'm a woman, we—"

"You know that's not what I mean."

Xion nodded, focused on not letting any tears reach her eyes.

Axel placed his hands on her shoulders. "We're trying to save the world, remember? We talked about this. It wasn't supposed to be . . . anything more than that."

"Mm." Xion gave him a hard look and removed his hands. "Well you and I may have talked about this, Axel, but I don't think we had the same conversation." Swiftly, she turned and walked away, to find someplace she could be alone for a while.

* * *

Another one I had to cut down considerably. Sigh. Curse you, word limit!

Inspired by the fact that AkuShi is ridiculously cute but I will never ever be able to see Axel as not gay. :/

- Star-Shaped-χ


	5. Have You Ever Cooperated With Anything?

Prompt: (75) Lie  
Pairing: Seiner  
Setting: AU; can be read as canonverse  
Rating: T  
Word Count: 348

* * *

Hayner and Seifer fought. Constantly. Everyone knew that. It was commonplace for even the earliest risers to arrive at the schoolyard and see the two already beginning an argument, and it never took long to escalate. Poor parenting, the onlookers blamed; Hayner's father had taken up drinking after his wife died, and Seifer's parents were gone so often the kid had basically raised himself. In a small town like this, those details are everyone's business, so everyone knew.

Everyone also knew that Seifer was the one who came out on top. Even if someone was able to intervene before the fight reached a conclusive finish, Hayner would always walk away with a large bruise, or a noticeable limp, or even a broken wrist. Only two groups of people were in denial over these victories: Hayner's friends, who were always there for him with words of encouragement; and Seifer's friends, who took notice to the emotional strain he carried with him after every fight.

Most of the town had forgotten that Hayner and Seifer had been best friends up until a few years ago. Few bothered to remember the times when the worst arguments the two boys shared were over the rules of a game or who should get the last snack. No one knew that, behind the pretense of being enemies they put on for the world to see, there were still times they managed to meet away from everyone else, when they would share a touch not at all like the punches they let others witness. No one knew that, despite the fury behind every fist Hayner threw and the sarcastic sheen that accompanied each of Seifer's insults, the relationship between the two had moved into something completely different from friendship behind closed doors.

And no one would ever know. Because it was hard enough to keep secrets in this town. Because alcohol was able to warp depression into anger, anger into violence. Because Hayner had injuries to cover up, and Seifer was the only one who knew the reason why.

* * *

The title is meant more to refer to Seifer's reaction to the quote than to the quote itself. XP For those who remember. These two sure make for an interesting pairing . . .

I only had to trim around 30 words this time. :3 I'm getting better at this limit. The romance itself, not so much. XD But that's okay—I've got ninety-five more drabbles to practice with.

- Star-Shaped-χ


	6. I Swear It On This

Prompt: (76) Memories  
Pairing: ReNamiku; can be read as gen  
Setting: Repliku's memory  
Rating: K  
Word Count: 349

* * *

"Naminé!" Riku ran past the treeline and rushed to her side. She was sitting on the sand, curled up with her thin arms wrapped around her legs, shoulders shaking as she sobbed. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Naminé shook her head quickly, scattering a few tears in spite of the way she clenched her eyes shut. "I'm scared," she murmured, her voice soft but clear despite her sobs and heavy breathing. "The sky . . ."

Riku looked up to see streaks of light dashing above them in the night sky. _A meteor shower?_ He hadn't noticed it since he was beneath the trees before hearing her cry. Did Naminé not know what it was? Maybe she thought the sky was breaking.

"Don't worry," Riku assured her. He dropped his sword and crouched down in front of her to pull her hands away from her knees, gripping them firmly to make sure she knew she was secure. "The sky does that sometimes," he explained. "It's just falling stars."

Naminé did not look reassured though. She looked away and pulled her hands away from Riku's, making little fists as she tried to keep herself from tearing up again. Tentatively, she opened her mouth and asked, "But what . . . What if those stars fall and land on this beach? What if they hit me?"

Riku stood, grabbed the wooden weapon, and pointed it up at the sky, envisioning every short-lived line of light as an enemy. "They can't hit you," he spoke confidently. "If any star—or anything—tries to come near you, I'll bat it away. I'll stand by you all night, Naminé. Or your whole life if the storm lasts that long. You'll see. I won't ever let you get hurt."

He glanced over to see she was looking up at him with wide eyes, her small mouth open in amazement. A sincere smile spread across Riku's face as he saw the fear she'd held was gone, and in response to that smile Naminé's face lit up as well.

* * *

You have no idea how much it bothers me using Riku's name for him. -_-

I was entirely too inspired for this one. I wrote over a thousand words, even though I could tell it was way too long for the word limit. I couldn't help it—I just love this pairing so much. I'm thinking about expanding the longer version even more into a one-shot about Repliku's feelings for Naminé and how they change over the course of his existence, but we'll see.

- Star-Shaped-χ


	7. I Only Want You To Be Happy

Prompt: (81) Shadow  
Pairing: Malefiku  
Setting: KH1 Hollow Bastion  
Rating: M  
Word Count: 347

* * *

Riku's hips drove fervently into Maleficent. He had her pressed up against the castle walls, one hand on either side, using the flat surface for support. Both of them were breathing heavily, but trying to hide it, too prideful to show the other they were tiring. Riku used quick and powerful thrusts to make up for the height difference he was struggling with.

The friction was exhilarating. The only thought occupying Riku's pleasure-filled mind was how long he'd missed out by not initiating this activity with any of the girls back on the islands. The tight grip around him now was enough to dissuade any regrets though; and he would be sure to make up for lost time in the future.

The tension he'd felt building up inside him since they began was threatening to burst away, but Riku wasn't going to let this end yet. Instead he let the energy release in the form of darkness, smothering the already dimly lit room in wisps of near-tangible shadows.

Maleficent put her own sorcery to work too, pushing off Riku's darkness to levitate both bodies in the air. Riku took advantage of the flight to lean forward over Maleficent and push in fully.

The new angle and depth broke Maleficent's silence, and Riku heard a few breathy moans escape her lips. His own panting soon got louder too. He still felt too good to stop and once again he transferred the sensation into darkness, completely filling the area around them, but this time it could only do so much for his body. Riku was close and knew it.

Maleficent's hands shot up as she summoned fire from the ground below them. Riku stared past her, enthralled by the eerie glow from the green flame as it quickly grew to equal their height. The flames licked at Riku's skin, not touching long enough to burn but shooting tendrils of green at him in short spurts just to serve as the jolt of adrenaline that finally pushed him over.

* * *

Lemons were not meant to be drabbles. :/ Still, I'm pretty proud of what I got here, considering the length.

I love the idea of Maleficent being the one Riku loses his virginity to. XP Don't know why. I always have. I wouldn't call this a favorite pairing of mine, but I do like it and find it to be extremely underappreciated in the fandom.

- Star-Shaped-χ


End file.
